Arrangement to facilitate the accessibility of a passenger motor vehicle



1955 F. K. H. NALLINGER ETAL 3,213,088

ARRANGEMENT To FACILITATE THE ACCESSIBILITY OF A PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLEOriginal Filed Aug. 18, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS.

FRIEDRICH K H NALL/NGER JOSEF MULLER KARL W/LFERT y ATTORNEYS 16, 1965F. K. H. NALLINGER ETAL 3,213,088

ARRANGEMENT T0 FAGILITATE THE ACCESSIBILITY OF A PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLEOriginal Filed Aug. 18. 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. FR/EDR/CH K HNALL/NGEP JOSEF MULLER KARL W/LFERT A770 EVS 16, 1965 F. K. H. NALLINGERETAL 3,213,083

ARRANGEMENT TO FACILITATE THE ACCESSIBILITY OF A PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLEOriginal Filed Aug. 18, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 j PUAIIIP MOTOR BATTER)FR/EDR/CH K N JOSEF MULLER KARL W/LFERT BY ATTORNEYS N 1 1965 F. K. H.NALLINGER ETAL 3,218,088

ARRANGEMENT TO FACILITATE THE ACCESSIBILITY OF A PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLEOriginal Filed Aug. 18, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 F LL U INVENTORS.FR/EDR/CH K. H NALL/NGER JOSEF MULLER KARL W/LFERT BY ATTORN Y6.

Claims priority, application Germany, Aug. 16, 1957, D 26,213 2 Claims.(Cl. 280-6) This application is a division of application Serial No.755,465 of Friedrich K. H. Nallinger, Josef Mueller and Karl Wilfert,filed August 18, 1958, and now abandoned.

The present invention relates to an installation and arrangement forfacilitating the ingress or boarding and egress or descending from thevehicle in connection with motor vehicles, particularly those which havea relatively slight constructional height.

There is at present a tendency in the motor vehicle design andconstruction to manufacture passenger motor vehicles with ever lowerconstructional heights. This tendency is not only based onconsiderations of styling but may also be traced back to the intentionto adapt the vehicle, notwithstanding the increased speed thereof, tothe shape with as favorable as possible a streamline and with a lowresistance to the airflow. This may ultimately lead to such a lowconstructional height of the vehicle that the boarding conditionsthereof deteriorate to such an extent as can no longer be expected to beacceptable to the passengers.

It has already been proposed in the prior art to obviate theseshortcomings by the creation of boarding hoods whereby a sufficientlylarge area for boarding the vehicle is rendered free from above afterlifting up the hoods. However, this construction is a compromisesolution, beset with still further shortcomings, especially as it is notpossible to use such boarding hoods with relatively larger vehiclessince the hoods in that case become too large and are then too difiicultto open. In order to make these hoods lighter they are usually made ofPlexiglas and, therefore, are not constructed very sturdily or rigidly.However, this entails the further disadvantage that such hoods areeasily broken or damaged.

The present invention eliminates the aforementioned disadvantages byenabling the vehicle to be lifted above the normal position thereof forpurposes of ingress and egress therefrom, which is possible, forexample, by changing or adjusting the spring system.

Vehicles are known in the prior art in which the spring characteristicsmay be adjusted either manually or automatically during the drive inorder to adapt the spring system to the different speeds or to differentloads. A secondary subordinate result of such a prior art installationis the fact that the vehicle may assume different levels. However, thissecondary result in such prior art devices does not anticipate thepresent invention since the present invention is concerned with changingthe level of the vehicle, not during the drive, but only duringstandstill of the vehicle so as to facilitate the boarding thereof. Thepresent invention may also be realized, inter alia, by changing thevehicle height through adjustments of the shock absorbers and/or byadditional stroke elements.

The change of the vehicle height may be produced by increasing thespring tension, and more particularly, by exerting an increasedpressure, either hydraulically or mechanically, on the auxiliary springsystem provided therefor.

nited States Patent 3,218,688 Patented Nov. 16, 1965 According toanother construction based on the present invention, the vehicle israised by changing the point of attack of the spring system at the leverarm with a spring system effective on a lever rod or linkage system.

According to another construction which is also based on the inventedconcept, additional stroke elements are arranged in addition to thenormal spring system which act on the axle members and lift the samefrom the springs.

The lifting of the vehicle above the normal position thereof may alsotake place by undertaking a relieving action of the springs by means ofadditional stroke elements which abut directly against the road.

In most modern vehicles, hydraulic shock absorbers are provided. Suchshock absorbers may also be used for purposes of lifting the vehicleprovided the hydraulic shock absorbers are in communication with apressure unit or aggregate for the supply of oil or air pressure. Theoil or air pressure additionally supplied to these shock absorbers liftsthe pistons thereof whereby, however, only the surface of the piston rodis effective as piston surface because the piston as such is providedwith bores which serve as oil passage from one side of the piston to theother. By lifting the piston in the shock absorber above the normalheight thereof, the vehicle is also lifted and the spring arecorrespondingly relieved.

In general, the stroke elements of the present invention which influencethe spring system of the vehicle are so arranged that the entire vehicleis lifted. Under certain circumstances this, however, is not necessary,for instance, with vehicles in which the seats are arranged relativelyfar forwardly in the vehicle or with a unilateral or onesided boardingarrangement for the vehicle. For that purpose, the stroke elements maybe so constructed that they act only on the spring members of the frontor of the rear axle or only on those of one side of the vehicle.

Particularly with the use of stroke elements which are effective or acton the axle members of the vehicle, such stroke elements may also beprovided as auxiliary spring elements in case of damage to the mainsprings and may then be rendered operative or engaged so that thevehicle can be driven to a repair place by means of the auxiliary springelement or elements though with only a slight spring comfort. The sameis also true for the use of shock absorbers as stroke elements which, incase of failure of the main or normal springs, may also find usefulnessas auxiliary spring elements.

For purposes of actuating the spring elements, it is necessary to keepin readiness an energy storage device which supplies, even after lengthyperiods of rest of the vehicle, still so much energy that the vehiclemay be lifted. Appropriately, a storage container or tank is provided inwhich the energy for lifting the vehicle is stored in the form ofgaseous pressure.

However, according to another embodiment of such an energy storagedevice, the energy may also be stored in the form of spring pressure.

According to still a further embodiment of the present invention, theenergy necessary for lifting the vehicle may be stored in a batterywhich effects lifting of the vehicle over an oil pump driven by anelectric motor.

In its simplest form, the actuation or initiation of the liftingoperation takes place manually by actuating an engaging or startingswitch as shown, for example, by Davidson, US. Patent 1,429,411, orstarting valve. However, such valves or switches have to be arranged onthe inside of the vehicle in order to avoid unauthorized actuationthereof, i.e., would be accessible, therefore, only after opening of thedoor. This type of actuating possibility is somewhat complicated. It is,therefore, appropriate within the scope of the present invention toactuate ice the initiation of the lifting operation by opening of adoor. For that purpose, push-button switches may be provided at thedoors which cooperate with magnets possibly over a suitable relay. Thestart-up control system is also so constructed that after closing allthe doors of the vehicle the lifting operation automatically ceases sothat the vehicle is again lowered. This can be readily achieved byhaving all normally open switches arranged in parallel so that all doorsmust be closed to reopen the energizing circuits to the magnets orcontrol relays therefor. The initiation of the operation may also becaused in a similar manner during opening of a lock. It is furtherappropriate, in addition to the automatic actuation by means of a dooror similar locking or closure device to enable selective manualactuation thereof by means of a hand lever arranged at the dashboard sothat the vehicle may be selectively raised or lowered at the will of thedriver or passenger and the automatic control arrangement is thereby putout of operation.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide atraising and lowering system for vehicles which facilitates boarding ofthe vehicle, particularly in case of low-slung modern streamlinedvehicles.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a raisingand lowering mechanism, operative either automatically or selectivelyduring standstill of the vehicle to facilitate boarding of the vehicleby the passengers without sacrificing rigidity or sturdiness of thevehicle superstructure, particularly of the vehicle top.

Still another, object of the present invention is to provide a raisingand lowering system for motor vehicles which utilizes either existingelements of the wheel sus pension or utilizes parts which can be simplyinstalled and which assures reliable operation under all conditions evenif the vehicle has been at standstill for a considerable length of time.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more obvious from the following description whentaken in connection with the accompanying drawing which shows, forpurposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance withthe present invention, and wherein:

FIGURE 1:: is a schematic end View of a vehicle wheel suspensionprovided with a mechanical raising mechanism in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIGURE lb is a partial schematic end view of a vehicle wheel suspensionprovided with a hydraulically actuated raising mechanism in accordancewith the present invention;

FIGURES 2a and 2b are schematic partial end views of a wheel suspensionprovided with a raising mechanism in accordance with the presentinvention in which the change in the height of the vehicle is obtainedby changing the place of attack of the springs or of the lever arm onwhich the spring acts;

FIGURE 3 is a partial schematic end view of a wheel suspension providedwith at raising mechanism in accordance with the present inventionhaving an additional stroke element acting on the axle;

FIGURES 4 and 5 are schematic end views of two embodiments of a wheelsuspension provided with a raising mechanism in accordance with thepresent invention including separate levers acting on the lever systemof the springs;

FIGURE 6 is a schematic side view of a motor vehicle provided with astroke or jack-type lifting element adapted to support itself directlyagainst the road;

FIGURE 7a is a partial end view of a wheel suspen* sion provided with araising mechanism in accordance with the present invention in which theshock absorber is used for purposes of changing the vehicle height;

FIGURE 71: is a schematic cross-sectional view of a shock-absorberarrangement in accordance with the present invention which may be usedin the arrangement of FIGURE 7a;

FIGURE 8a is a schematic view of an energy storage system for use with araising and lowering mechanism in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURES 8b and 8c are cross-sectional views through two embodiments ofenergy storage devices usable for the raising and lowering mechanism inaccordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 9 is a schematic diagram of a control circuit for use inconnection with the present invention, and

FIGURE 10 is a schematic diagram of a modified embodiment of a controlcircuit for use in connection with the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are usedthroughout the various views to designate corresponding parts, and moreparticularly to FIG- URE in, which shows a vehicle front or rear axlesuspension consisting of two half or partial axle members in a schematicmanner, reference numerals 1 and 2 designate therein the two half orpartial axles which are pivotally supported in the center in a joint 3and are connected thereat with one another. The vehicle bodyschematically shown and designated by reference numeral 4 is supportedon the axle members 1 and Z by means of suitable springs 5. An auxiliaryor additional spring 7 acts additionally on the axle members 1 and 2over lever arms 6 rigidly connected thereto by means of which the wheels8 may be forced or pressed downwardly up to a certain degree. If thespring '7 is further loaded or compressed, then the levers 6 are pressedfurther apart from each other whereby the angle or subtended between theaxle members I and 2 is reduced and the wheels 3 are pressed furtherdownwardly so that the vehicle body is effectively raised thereby. Theadditional spring loading or compression of spring 7 is elfected bymeans of a reversible electric motor 9 which compresses the spring '7 bymeans of threaded spindle Iii which in turn cooperates with acorresponding internal thread provided in the right-hand lever 6 ofFIGURE 1a. The motor 9 can be controlled by conventional switch meanssuch as shown in the patent to Davidson, US. Patent 1,429,411,previously referred to.

FIGURE lb illustrates a pneumatic spring wheel suspension. The wheel 11is spring-supported or springsuspended over axle member 12 and piston 13which slides or reciprocates upwardly and downwardly within the cylinder14. A fluid is present in the space 15 above piston 13, usuallyconsisting of oil, and an air space 16 separated from the oil space 15by a suitable, elastic membrane member 14- is disposed above the oilspace 15. The air space 16 serves as spring body by reason of itscompressibility. If the air pressure in space 16 is increased or anadditional oil pressure is pumped into the space 15, then the springcoefficient of the pneumatic spring is increased and the height or levelof the vehicle 17 is also increased thereby.

FIGURES 2a and 2b illustrate the possibility of achieving lifting of thevehicle by changing the lever on which.

the spring acts or attacks. The wheel 18 is spring-suspended at thevehicle body 21 over lever arms 19 and 2t). Furthermore, the vehiclebody 21 is in equilibrium over spring element 22 with the wheelsuspension on the basis of lever arms a and b. On the one hand, springforce F acts on the lever rod or linkage 2% at a distance b from thepivot point 23 and, on the other, the reaction force R of the wheel 18acts thereon at a distance a from the pivot point 23. If now, byinclining the spring 22 as illustrated in FIGURE 2!), the lever arm isincreased from b to b the existing equilibrium is disturbed and a newequilibrium will establish itself at the wheel suspension or at thevehicle body with different lengths of the effective lever arms. As aresult thereof, the wheel 18 is forced or pushed downwardly and thevehicle body 21 is thereby raised correspondingly.

In FIGURE 3, the wheel 24 is supported over a lever rod system 25 and 26and is pivot-ally connected to a vehicle bearer member of the frame. Apneumatic spring 28 serves for spring-supporting the vehicle 27. Inorder to increase the height of the vehicle 27. for purposes ofboarding, stroke element 29 are arranged below the vehicle body 27 atany suitable place, possibly underneath a vehicle longitudinal or crossbearer member which are actuated pneumatically. By such actuation, theplunger member 30 is displaced outwardly of the element 29, finds anabutment at the counter-support 31, and thereby forces the wheel 24downwardly by counterpressure against this abutment 31 and therewithlifts the vehicle body 27 upwardly.

FIGURE 4 illustrates also an additional stroke element 32 which isarranged below the vehicle body 33. In FIGURE 4, the element 32 is adouble-acting stroke element with rectilinea-rly movable plunger members34 and 35 which act on the joints 36 and 37 of the pivotally connectedknee-like lever arrangement connecting levers 38 and 39 with each other.If the plunger members 34 and 35 move outwardly the joints 36 and 37 ofthe angular lever systems are also pushed outwardly and therewith thespace between the lower edge of the vehicle body 33 and the axle members40 and 41 is increased so that the wheel 42 and 43 which are adapted tobe pivoted or swung about the point of rotation 44 thereof are forceddownwardly whereby the vehicle body 33 is forced upwardly.

A double-acting stroke element 45 i also arranged below the vehicle body46 in FIGURE 5. The rectilinearly movable plunger members 47 and 48 ofthe stroke element 45 are shown in the outermost position thereof. Theplunger members 47 and 48 act against the levers 51 and 52 rigidlyconnected with the wheel axle members 49 and 50. Since the wheel axlemembers 49 and 50 are also adapted to be pivoted in this case about apivot point 53, the axle members 49 annd 50, together with the wheels 54and 55, are thereby forced downwardly and the vehicle body 46 is therebyraised when plunger members 47 and 49 are in the outermost positionthereof.

FIGURE 6 schematically shows a stroke element 56 which is arranged inthe center between the wheels 57 and 58 on one side of the vehicle only.The stroke or jack-type element 56 acts directly against the road andthereby lifts the vehicle from the road on the particular side of thevehicle.

FIGURES 7a and 7b show the use of shock absorbers for lifting thevehicle. The Wheel 59 illustrated in FIG- URE 7a is spring-suspended atthe vehicle 'body 63 by means of lever linkage system 60 and of spring61, as well as by means of shock absorber 62. Normally, the shockabsorber 62 only has the task of damping the vibrations of the spring61. When oil pressure is supplied to the shock absorber 62, then thepiston 64, disposed on the inside thereof as shown in FIGURE 7b, islifted and thereby the vehicle body 63 is also lifted or raised withrespect to the road. As will be clear also from FIG- URE 7b, with theuse of the shock absorber 62 as stroke elements, only the surface of thepiston rod 65 can be considered as effective piston surface since thepiston 64 itself is provided with bores 66 by means of which the oilwithin the shock absorber may flow from one side of the piston to theother to permit the primary function of the shock absorber 62. The oilline 67, for purposes of increasing the oil pressure, is also shown inFIG- URE 7b.

As already mentioned hereinabove, it is necessary that for purposes oflifting the vehicle, the necessary energy is available at all times. Inthe best, most practical form, such energy is placed, in readiness foruse, in energy storage devices.

FIGURE 8a shows an over-all storage installation with a battery 68, anelectric motor 69 drivingly connected with a pump 69, a supply line 70and a discharge line 71 leading to and from the switching or shiftingdevice 72; the pressure reservoir 73 provided with an oil chamber 74 anda gas chamber 75 adjoins the switching device 72. If such aninstallation is provided for lifting the vehicle, then the same has tobe constructed tight in its entirety in order to be able to retain evenafter a relatively longer period of time a corresponding pressure in thespring elements and to be capable of supplying or making available thedifferential amount of pressure for lifting the vehicle by pumpingaction. On the other hand, only the reservoir may be constructed in atight manner. However, the energy storage capacity thereof would have tobe made so large that it sutfices in order to bring the vehicle from thelow or normal position thereof to the required height.

FIGURE 8b shows an oil reservoir with spring pressure which, for thesecond case, has to be constructed in a tight manner. A sutficientlylarge pressure is constantly maintained in the oil chamber 76 whichcompresses the spring 79 in the cylinder portion 77. During use, i.e.,if the vehicle is to be raised, then by opening a suitable valve (notshown), the oil pressure in space 76 is permitted to flow off intoappropriate cylinder chambers (not shown) for purposes of providing therequired pumping action to lift the vehicle by means of the energystored in spring 79.

FIGURE 8c shows a further construction in which a spring 79, compressedby oil pressure in the cylinder 78, is used for lifting the vehicle.With a release of the oil from cylinder 78, the spring 79 exerts aspring force over piston 80 and linkage 81, possibly over pivot point82, on the spring system of the vehicle and thereby lifts the vehicle.

The various elements and members forming part of the raising andlowering mechanism in accordance with the present invention which areall individually well known per se in the prior art and which may be ofany suitable construction have been shown only schematically herein. Itis understood that any suitable construction, for example, anyindependent wheel suspension, which may be used for spring suspendingthe various wheels of the vehicle.

FIGURE 9 shows a control diagram for use in connection with the raisingand lowering mechanism of the present invention in which referencenumerals designate doors schematically illustrated therein whichcooperate with spring-loaded switches 91 in which a manner as to close acircuit upon opening a respective door. The spring-loaded switches orpush button contacts 91 may be of any desired construction and may beprovided in the door frame in the usual manner or may be operativelyconnected with the lock for the respective doors. A source of electricenergy 92, such as the vehicle battery, is connected with one terminalthereof to the ground and with the other terminal thereof to a circuit93 which includes the winding 94 of relay 95. The circuits containingthe four switches 91 corresponding to a four-door vehicle are eachconnected in parallel between ground and circuit 93 so that, uponopening of any of the doors or upon closure of a manually operatedswitch 91, the coil 94 of relay 95 is energized thereby closing itscontact 96 to provide an energization circuit for the relay 97 which maybe either a magnet or servomotor influencing the arrangement for liftingand lowering a vehicle. Any suitable magnet or servomotor arrangementmay be used in connection therewith.

FIGURE 10 shows a control circuit arrangement essentially similar tothat of FIGURE 9, in which a manually operable switch generallydesignated by reference numeral 98 is inserted into the energizationcircuit 93 for coil 94. The manually operable switch 98 includes acontact member 99 which, in the center position thereof, closes thecircuit 93 when making an electrical contact with the terminal 98c. Whenthe contact member 99 rests on the terminal 98a, the vehicle is lowered,whereas the vehicle is raised when the contact member 99 makes anelectrical contact with the terminal 98b. Otherwise,

thereof. Furthermore, the control system may be manually operated and/or automatically operated by opening and closing the vehicle doors or byopening and closing the vehicle door locks. Since such systems are wellknown in the prior art, a full description thereof is dispensed withherein. However, they may include automatically operated switcheselectrically energizing, over appropriate control circuits and possiblycontrol relays,

devices which will perform the necessary function to raise and lower thevehicle, for example, electromagnets provided with actuating plunger orstroke elements, electric motors driving an oil or air pressure, etc.

Thus, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited to theillustrated embodiments but is susceptible of many changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention, andwe, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the illustrated embodimentsbut intend to cover all such modifications and changes thereof as areencompassed by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. On installation for facilitating passenger ingres into and egressfrom the body of a passenger motor vehicle having half-axles connectedby pivot means carried by said body and common to each of saidhalf-axles, comprising lever arm means connected to said half-axles andselectively operable means acting upon said lever arm means during thestandstill position of said passenger motor vehicle to cause saidhalf-axles to turn about said pivot means and raise said body beyond thenormal driving position of said body during said ingress and egress,said lever arm means comprising arm members having one end of eachthereof rigidly connected to said halfaxles, said selectively operablemeans being effective to apply a force to the other ends of said armmembers, said selectively operable means comprising adjustable springmeans connecting said other ends of said arm members, said adjustablespring means comprising a spring operably connected between said otherends of said arm members, said selectively operable means furtherincluding a reversible electric motor carried by one of said arm membersfor adjusting the tension of said spring, and manual remote controlmotor reversing means for controlling said electric motor.

2. An installation according to claim 1, wherein main spring means areinterposed between said half axles and said body, said adjustable springmeans being efiective to cushion said body especially in case ofdisablement of said main spring means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,990,798 2/1935Richter 280-6 X 2,128,660 8/1938 Moorhouse 267-20 2,134,515 10/1938Hoskyns 280-124 X 2,443,433 6/1948 Sanmori 280-124 2,757,376 7/1956Brueder. 2,809,862 10/1957 Daniels 296-44 2,836,431 5/1958 Brueder280-112 2,844,386 7/1958 Pribonic. 2,916,296 12/1959 Muller 280-1242,929,640 3/1960 Faivev. 2,939,723 6/ 1960 Wisniewski. 2,978,256 4/ 1961Bertsch. 2,992,014 7/1961 Muller 280-124 FOREIGN PATENTS 698,524 11/1940 Germany.

A. HARRY LEVY, Primary Examiner.

LEO FRIAGLIA, Examiner.

1. ON INSTALLATION FOR FACILITATING PASSENGER INGRESS INTO AND EGRESSFROM THE BODY OF A PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLE HAVING HALF-AXLES CONNECTEDBY PIVOT MEANS CARRIED BY SAID BODY AND COMMON TO EACH OF SAIDHALF-AXLES, COMPRISING LEVER ARM MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID HALF-AXLES ANDSELECTIVELY OPERABLE MEANS ACTING UPON SAID LEVER ARM MEANS DURING THESTANDSTILL POSITION OF SAID PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLE TO CAUSE SAIDHALF-AXLES TO TURN ABOUT SAID PIVOT MEANS AND RAISE SAID BODY BEYOND THENORMAL DRIVING POSITION OF SAID BODY DURING SAID INGRESS AND EGRESS,SAID LEVER ARM MEANS COMPRISING ARM MEMBERS HAVING ONE END OF EACHTHEREOF RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO SAID HALFAXLES, SAID SELECTIVELY OPERABLEMEANS BEING EFFECTIVE TO APPLY A FORCE TO THE OTHER ENDS OF SAID ARMMEMBERS, SAID SELECTIVELY OPERABLE MEANS COMPRISING ADJUSTABLE SPRINGMEANS CONNECTING SAID OTHER ENDS OF SAID ARM MEMBERS, SAID ADJUSTABLESPRING MEANS COMPRISING A SPRING OPERABLY CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID OTHERENDS OF SAID ARM MEMBERS, SAID SELECTIVELY OPERABLE MEANS FURTHERINCLUDING A REVERSIBLE ELECTRIC MOTOR CARRIED BY ONE OF SAID ARM MEMBERSFOR ADJUSTING THE TENSION OF SAID SPRING, AND MANUAL REMOTE CONTROLMOTOR REVERSING MEANS FOR CONTROLLING SAID ELECTRIC MOTOR.